Medicare & You: Planning for Discharge from a Health Care Setting

Hi, I’m Angela James with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. I’ve got some important information to share with you if you’re in a hospital, nursing home or other care setting and you’re going to be discharged. If you’re getting discharged, there are some things you should do to prepare for your departure. During your stay, your doctor and the staff will work with you to get ready. You and your caregiver – who could be a family member or friend who may be helping you – are important members of the planning team, so make sure you’re part of the discussion. There’s a checklist on Medicare.gov that can help you prepare, and you can talk to your doctor and the staff about the items that are on the checklist. Here are a few of the things that are on the checklist that you might want to consider asking: First, you’ll want to ask where you’ll get care after you’ve been discharged, because you might have different options, like home health care. You also might ask the staff about your health condition and what you can do to help yourself get better. Be sure to write down the names of all your prescription-drugs, over-the-counter drugs, vitamins and herbal supplements. And, ask if you’ll need medical equipment. If you do, find out who will arrange for it. And it’s really important that you make sure you have people ready to help you, and you can ask the staff to show you how to do any tasks that require special skills – like changing a bandage or giving a shot. You’ll want to make sure you ask for written discharge instructions that you can understand and get a summary of your current health status. These are just a few items on the discharge checklist. There are many other things that you’ll want to consider. And one good thing you can do is print out a copy of this checklist, because these instructions are here to help you when it’s time to leave a care setting. But what happens if you think you’re being asked to leave a hospital or other health care setting too soon? You have the right to ask for a review of the discharge decision before you leave. There’s something called the Beneficiary and Family Centered Care Quality Improvement Organization, and this orginzation is there to help you. To get the phone number for your Quality Improvement Organization, visit Medicare.gov/contacts, or call 1-800-MEDICARE For more information, visit Medicare.gov.

I was just at Saint Barnabas Medical Hospital NJ I had a surgery Achilles repair January 23rd of this year turned out bad my doctor did not listen finally I get to the hospital the 27th I was supposed to get that fixed I'm in the OR they put me on gas mask to put an IV line I was burnerable abused hit in my chest that's when I got up and I cancel surgery I'm still like dayst but I know someone hit me hard and my chest twice no one said nothing and now Dr Adam Kaplan just won't even touch me after he messed up my foot I do not recommend him ..my foot is blown is red is hot and it's painful..